An annotated guide · editorial draft
6 networks and programs for charity founders
Find founder support, incubation and social enterprise programs. Compare the audience, application route and limits before choosing.
A selected starting list in alphabetical order, not a ranking. No listed organization is presented as a Charitology partner.
Starting an organization is one possible response to a problem. First ask whether an existing organization, community or partnership could do the work. If a new organization is warranted, these programs offer different kinds of founder support. Some serve charities; others include social enterprises or a narrower kind of intervention.
Before you join or apply
- Does the program support your legal model, country and stage?
- Are you looking for peers, structured training, incubation or funding?
- What selection process, participation commitment and current costs apply?
- Can the program help you challenge the need for a new organization as well as launch one?
The fit questions are Charitology’s editorial suggestions. The descriptions below summarize each organization’s own published material; they are not an independent assessment of its results.
-
Ambitious Impact (Charity Entrepreneurship)
A selective incubation program for launching charities around researched ideas, with founder training, co-founder exploration and continuing support.
Who it serves. People preparing to found a new charity, including experienced founders starting something new
What you can explore
- Training includes theory of change, cost-effectiveness analysis, monitoring and evaluation, budgeting and fundraising plans.
- Participants explore recommended ideas and potential co-founders before preparing a seed proposal for independent funders.
- Post-program support includes mentoring, specialist introductions, operations and HR help, and an alumni community.
Access and engagement. Read the current program page and its officially linked expression-of-interest form. Admission is selective and the program requires full-time participation.
Check the limits. Primarily designed for new charities following its recommended ideas. Its FAQ generally excludes people already running a charity, with exceptions considered individually. Funding is not guaranteed.
Official sources and check date
Editorial source note · Draft · Checked . Conditions may change; confirm them before acting.
- Start a charity
Global participation, delivery format and link to the public interest form.
- How the program works
Founder curriculum, co-founder exploration, independent seed review and post-program support.
- FAQs
Full-time commitment, recommended-idea focus and limits for existing charities.
- Expression of Interest Form · Limited access
Public introduction confirms registration of interest for the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program; later form steps were not entered.
-
D-Prize
A launch program for organizations that distribute existing poverty interventions, using published challenges and a staged funding competition.
Who it serves. Founders planning a new organization to distribute an existing evidence-backed poverty intervention
What you can explore
- Publishes intervention challenge briefs and a route for proposing a custom evidence-backed intervention.
- Uses concept notes, further written questions and finalist interviews to assess applications.
- Provides selected founders with seed funding for an initial pilot and organizational launch.
Access and engagement. Start with the current competition page and application packet. The packet provides the online submission route; emailed proposals are not considered.
Check the limits. Mainly for new organizations and distribution of existing interventions. It excludes new-product development and unproven prototypes. Applicants need a plan to work in the operating country. It is not general funding for new software or open-ended research.
Official sources and check date
Editorial source note · Draft · Checked . Conditions may change; confirm them before acting.
- D-Prize: Distribution equals development
Published challenges, application stages and selected pilot-launch funding.
- Frequently Asked Questions
Application route, new-organization focus, excluded ideas, global applicant scope and local operating commitment.
-
Echoing Green
A selective fellowship combining leadership development, seed support, expert resources and a continuing community across causes and regions.
Who it serves. Original founders and leading founding-team members of early-stage social impact organizations
What you can explore
- Offers leadership-development and well-being programming for selected fellows.
- Connects fellows with seed funding, experts and organizational-capacity resources.
- Brings fellows together through virtual and in-person convenings and lifelong community membership.
Access and engagement. Use the official fellowship page for future application cycles. Its public contact form accepts questions or proposals after reviewing the published guidance.
Check the limits. Requires an original founder with decision-making authority, an early-stage organization, English proficiency and a full-time commitment. It includes legal structures beyond nonprofits; grant terms vary. The contact page says not all inquiries receive a response.
Official sources and check date
Editorial source note · Draft · Checked . Conditions may change; confirm them before acting.
- Fellowship
Leadership and well-being support, seed resources, convenings and continuing community.
- Fellowship Application
Global applicant eligibility, original-founder authority, early-stage focus, language and commitment requirements.
- Contact
Public question/proposal form and explicit response-capacity limitation.
-
Fast Forward
An accelerator focused on the practical needs of tech nonprofits, combining nonprofit and product training with mentoring and founder peers.
Who it serves. Early-stage technology and AI nonprofit founders with a working minimum viable product
What you can explore
- Curriculum combines nonprofit topics such as board development and impact measurement with product and scaling work.
- Selected organizations receive funding, expert mentoring and a founder cohort.
- Portfolio services include continuing programming, peer circles and individual advising.
Access and engagement. Read current accelerator requirements and updates on its official program page. Its public tech nonprofit directory also supports discovery without requiring accelerator membership.
Check the limits. The accelerator requires a nonprofit funding model and an MVP; it does not accept for-profit social enterprises. Admission is selective and involves a substantial time and travel commitment. A directory listing does not mean accelerator participation or endorsement.
Official sources and check date
Editorial source note · Draft · Checked . Conditions may change; confirm them before acting.
- The Accelerator
Program focus, MVP and nonprofit requirements, curriculum, mentoring, cohort and continuing portfolio services.
- FAQ
Global access, hybrid participation, time commitment and for-profit exclusion.
- Tech Nonprofit Directory
Public discovery filters and the distinction between all listings and accelerator portfolio organizations.
-
UnLtd
Awards combine venture funding with tailored support for social entrepreneurs at startup and early growth stages.
Who it serves. UK-resident founders and leaders starting or developing a UK-focused social venture
What you can explore
- Offers Starting Up and Scaling Up Awards with different suitability criteria.
- Award offers list a support manager, workshops, business mentoring and legal-adviser support.
- Publishes an eligibility checker and application assistance for people facing barriers to applying.
Access and engagement. Begin with the Awards page and required eligibility checker. A published general-inquiries page provides a separate public contact route.
Check the limits. Requires UK residence and right to work, a mainly UK-benefiting venture and both financial and non-financial support needs. Stage, trading and other criteria vary. Applications are selective, capacity-limited and subject to the current round.
Official sources and check date
Editorial source note · Draft · Checked . Conditions may change; confirm them before acting.
- Awards
Award types, listed support, required eligibility checker, application stages and assistance.
- Full Eligibility Criteria
Founder, UK residence/work, UK-benefit, stage and support-need conditions.
- General Enquiries
Organization-published general-inquiries form page.